Two Bits: Say what you like, Donald gets results!

Love or hate the man, you’ve got to admit that the Donald gets a reaction out of people. He’s no boring Angela Merkel or Theresa May who hold to the party line and play appeasement politics.

Fox News is a notoriously right-wing TV network and their report on South Africa last week contained elements of truth, untruth and half-truths.

They were wrong that Ramaphosa is taking away land. They were right that white farmers are being killed but that is a half-truth, because black and Indian farmers are also in the firing line.

Donald watched the report and then tweeted from the hip that he would order an investigation into South Africa.

Well, you’d think he’d declared war! The government went into a tailspin and the local Twittersphere was full of rage that he dared interfere.

Fact is, he’s the leader of the most powerful nation on earth.

In 140 characters he’s got more reaction from the government than years of pleadings from the likes of Afriforum. Good for him.

Doesn’t matter which side you are on, an uncontrolled land grab would be very bad news for all the peoples of this country. Ramaphosa was very quick to say what I have said here before, that they will be considering unlocking the millions of hectares of land in State hands before destroying the country’s wealth and food source.

* * *

The Chamber of Commerce breakfast last week, in partnership with ourselves and the Robert Group, was jam-packed to hear from the founder of Partners for Possibility.

Having assessed that four percent of children starting school reach tertiary education and 85 percent of school leavers are not functionally literate, founder Louise van Rhyn set up this amazing programme whereby businesspeople are partnered with principals of struggling schools, to give of their expertise and provide a support base.

PfP reaches 825 schools countrywide and aims to reach 2 000 by 2022.

Already half a dozen retired execs on the Dolphin Coast are involved and doing good things. Anyone can give back. It sounds a whole lot better than sitting around complaining that the country is going to the dogs.

* * *

One downside to internet phones (VOIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol) is that they’re very cheap from anywhere in the world.

Every couple of months I get a phone call, usually from a salesperson who sounds Chinese or Indian, who distinguish themselves by being unable to pronounce my name. “I would like to speak to Brooz Step-Hen-son.”

I acknowledge that’s me, and then they switch gear and get all friendly:

“Hi Brooz, how are you? Pregnant pause. I reply “Fine thank you’, but I know what’s coming.

“I’m phoning from XJZ and Co and you may recall we had a conversation last year, when you asked me to call you back around this time.”

And then he/she launches into a sales routine at breakneck speed about investment opportunities in Japan/Isle of Man/Hong Kong or wherever.

Lately I’ve taken to stopping them midsentence and asking: When did I ask you to call me back?

They reply very confidently that it was “towards the end of last year, I think it was November”. I think that’s written in their sales pitch notes.

Needless to say I have no memory of such a call, because I know for certain it did not happen. In the first place, I would not invest in some wild-arsed scheme in Japan/Hong Kong and, second, I certainly wouldn’t ask them to call me back nine months later.

Last week I had three calls from the same company. Twice I put the phone down. The third time the man pleaded with me to stay on the line. He explained that they were investment brokers in London and had paid some Hong Kong company handsomely for leads.

He’d been sold my information on the basis that I was interested in making an investment. He was quite upset when I told him in no uncertain terms that I was not, not, not interested and would not be. Ever. Never. He whined that he’d paid a lot for the info, but I cut him short and said tough pal, you got taken.

* * *

Doctor: “Do you do sports?”

Patient: “Does sex count?”

Doctor: “Yes.”

Patient: “Then no.”

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